Bouncing to Glory
Titan is a clever twist of the Breakout formula released in 1989 by Titus. Use the ball to blast away the bricks, but instead of a paddle moving horizontally at the bottom of the screen, we are now viewing the action overhead. So, rather than controlling this paddle independently from the blocks, in a separate part of the screen, we're within a scrollable arena twice the size of your typical screen (scrolls in all four directions).
We navigate a block around the screen (across both X/Y axes) using the mouse or joystick (press F2 during the game for the much-superior mouse). The walls, obstacles, and blocks are around us - rather than distantly placed. This also means the ball isn't knocked out of play, and will bounce around the screen waiting for your help to redirect it to the location of the remaining blocks. The goal is the same - break every block to win. Later levels have power-ups and enemies, but I've played the first three levels and didn't see 'em!!
At first glance, Titan looks plain, but clear and uncluttered, making it easy to keep track of the ball. And if the tone doesn't suit, hit F4 and cycle through a variety of alternative palettes. Where Titan really struts its stuff is in the scrolling, which is buttery-smooth on either computer: older STf models have a slightly smaller playfield thanks to a chunky (but excellent) status panel, while the STe goes full show-off with its hardware scrolling. Either way, everything glides along at a rock-solid framerate - yes, on both computers.
The sound effects are rather basic, so brace yourself for a lot of "dink-dink" as the ball pings about the screen like a toolbox during an earthquake. The STe gets DMA music on the title, something I never expected for 1989. Okay, it's not the best quality you'll hear, but I appreciate the effort Titus put into this.
I'm not exactly a huge Breakout fan, but I still quite enjoyed it. Technically, Titus has transformed the game with some interesting mechanics and technical achievements, but sadly, it hasn't fully worked. There is no feeling of skill, as our task is to merely get in the way, so hitting the ball correctly felt like pure luck. That innocent thrill of "just one more go" isn't here, so by the third level, my interest had waned.
Sadly, I'm rating this a disheartening 65%. Am I right? Let me know in the comments below.
- Atari Legend has access to various (floppy) menu disks.
- Installing onto the hard drive is provided by 8BitChip.
- Don't leave without checking out other Enhanced Games for the Atari STe.
- There are better Breakout games listed in this section.
Cool loading screen with DMA music too!
The first level is dead easy. I like "dead easy"!
The second level is a long slog...
The third level is better, and we need to break the blocks so the ball to get through!
Hit F4 anytime you like for a range of alternative palettes!
